at least some people have some sense during this time ...i cant beleive how stupid people can be about their garbage just letting it pile an pile when up to 80% can be stored cleanly and safely untill further notice ..

at least this is a good story

Vancouver's garbage strike a blessing to change lifestyle, says recycling guru
CAMILLE BAINS



VANCOUVER (CP) - Raqib Brian Burke says he and his neighbours will never have to hold their noses while a garbage strike drags on the way residents in Vancouver are having to do these days.

Vancouver's civic strike is heading into its fourth week and piles of smelly garbage are getting putrid, but Burke figures the strike is a blessing that could help people change the way they live.

He and the 40 people who live in his North Vancouver apartment complex recycle everything, including bones from their meat, which they take to a butcher who turns them into bone meal to be used as fertilizer.

In Burke's world, zero waste is the message.

The strike "is a golden opportunity to reverse or at least mitigate the trend that's happening," he said about the mountains of garbage people generate from things they toss out instead of reusing and recycling them.

"Practically speaking, go out and get a composter immediately," he urged Vancouverites.

Apartment dwellers don't need to feel left out because they can put worm composters on their balconies, he said.

The sufi dance teacher and recycling guru began a recycling program in his complex 12 years ago for newspapers and cans.

Since then, residents in the 20 units have embraced a zero-waste philosophy by getting rid of their dumpster and recycling everything imaginable.

Besides the four-wheeled recycling carts picked up by the city, there are 20 garbage cans in the building's basement to sort various items including clothing, two types of Styrofoam, yard trimmings from plants and wood scraps to be turned into garden soil, low-grade paper and plastic, batteries, fluorescent tubes and those bones.

Burke said residents deliver the recyclables to various facilities themselves.

"As we researched where to put things instead of in the garbage, we realized, basically, if you wanted to work extra hard, you didn't have to throw anything away."

They take the clothes to the Salvation Army, which sells even torn items as rags used by industries to clean heavy machinery.

Styrofoam used as meat trays and egg cartons is shipped to a Mississauga recycling company two to three times a year at a cost of $40 each time, Burke said.

Styrofoam for packing computers is sent to a local facility, where some of it is turned into insulation for houses.

Residents deliver batteries and fluorescent tubes to a facility that removes the toxic material.

Burke said some companies are putting more effort into recycling material they previously shunned.

Pizza boxes once weren't accepted into city paper and cardboard recycling bins because of the grease, but North Vancouver now picks them up because a technique has been found to remove it.

"What's needed is for Canada and British Columbia to adopt a goal of zero waste," Burke said. "Australia and New Zealand are well on that road and there are cities in California that have adopted zero waste."

He said many western countries have reached their goal of reducing waste by 50 per cent but need to do more to sustain limited resources.

And while individuals are starting to take more responsibility, industries are still caught up in selling goods in multiple layers of packaging that ends up in landfills, Burke said.

"It's one thing to take back all these items (for recycling). The long-term solution is for every industry to put an eco fee on their product when we buy it so that will cover the cost of the industry recycling all their own products," he said.

"It's called extended producer responsibility, where they extend their responsibility to cover what they sell from cradle to grave."

Burke said extended producer responsibility laws were pioneered in Germany and need to be adopted elsewhere to make an overall difference.

As for Vancouver's civic strike, which includes inside workers such as librarians, talks remain stalled and Mayor Sam Sullivan has said the city won't get involved.

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

I live in Vancouver and it's been 12 weeks so far, I think.


One of the best ideas I've ever heard is from Joe Jenkins. He's the guy who has been composting his family's kitchen, garden and HUMAN waste for decades, and using it to fertilize his food garden.

This guy is one of MY heros.

He's written books about the environment and composting.
He GIVES the books to charitable organizations, plus makes them available online (or you can buy them, too).

He's very down-to-earth and has won awards for some of his books. I'm sure coco must have heard of him, living in Nelson!

I'm as passionate about his composting methods as I am about RV diet - it's the sanest way to keep our waterways clean and nutrients in our food, yet it hasn't caught on with ignorant governments yet.

thats very cool i love hearing aobut people like him

i composted in my apartment in new westminster and recycled almost everything i could

all these people that went out and got composters shjould get a tax break equal to at least the price of the composter off their municipal garbage tax next year ! kudos to them !

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

For those of you with a back lawn..
I compost all of our food scraps and all I do is put it in a pile on the lawn/garden I want to fertilize and throw grass clippings over it. It breaks down real fast without any smell.